


Fool for You

by tekhartha



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tekhartha/pseuds/tekhartha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a sunny Saturday morning and the first thing Newton thinks when he wakes up is: 'I should totally buy some flowers.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fool for You

It's a sunny Saturday morning and the first thing Newton thinks when he wakes up is: _I should totally buy some flowers._

He practically jumps out of bed, surprising himself, since he usually needs about thirty minutes to even wake up properly. Especially on a Saturday! Somehow the thought of buying flowers for his balcony seems to motivate him. He crosses the room to the stack of still unopened boxes and digs around in one of them to find a (more or less) clean shirt and boxers.

His room is a mess, more than that actually, but admittedly he didn't really have time to unpack since he arrived here three days ago. His flat is tiny anyway and he's not sure, that he'll be able to find a place for everything. So, for now it's just boxes, a bed and a desk, which is cluttered with notes, books and writing utensils. One corner of the room is the “kitchen”, meaning a fridge, a stove and a sink with a bit of workspace to cut vegetables or whatever people do, when they cook, are tightly squeezed together.

While Newton loves to eat (he loves it a _lot_ ), cooking never was one of his strengths.

At least his flat has a balcony. It's tiny, there's maybe just enough space for two people, but Newton has a balcony and that's actually pretty great.

He quickly eats a slice of toast with peanut butter, while he googles “garden center”. There are three of them near his flat and he decides to go to the closest one, Blooming Paradise. Newton writes down the address and pushes the last piece of toast into his already full mouth. When he jogs down the stairs, he almost chokes on the remains of his breakfast, but thanks to a few strong claps on his chest, he doesn't meet his death yet.

 

***

 

Within five minutes he reaches his destination. Blooming Paradise does indeed look like paradise. The whole building is a giant green house and Newton can see all kinds of colourful and exotic flowers standing before and in it. He straightens his glasses and enters.

As expected the air inside is hot and moist, he almost immediately starts sweating, so he peels off his leather jacket. He isn't even sure what he's looking for, since he's not an expert on plants, nope, not really. Yes, he's studying biology, but he has only a limited knowledge of particular plants and frankly, the things he's studying are a bit more complex than what can be found in a garden center.

He still makes his way towards a table on his left, which is covered in about a hundred little cacti and Newton can't help grinning at them. Still, he's looking for balcony plants and these are definitely not suited for a balcony.

He moves further into the (quite literal) jungle, fascinated by all the curious flowers. After a while he picks out about ten small plants and some fitting pots. Proudly he makes his way to the right side of the building, where he had spotted the checkout before.

He seems to be the only customer at the moment, so the cashier, who sits behind the counter is reading a book and doesn't see him approach. Newton puts down the items and clears his throat. The cashier lowers their book and now Newton can see, that it's a man about his age. Just that his clothes make him look like fifty. He's wearing a ridiculously thick cardigan _and_ a sweater vest with a very ugly pattern _and_ a shirt, that he has buttoned up to the top. Newton starts sweating even more just seeing the layers of clothes or maybe it's because of the look that guy gives him. He is peering over his grandpa-glasses like he's deeply offended that Newton disturbed him.

Newton smiles nevertheless and tries to wipe the smug expression off the man's face with a cheerful “Good morning!”.

It doesn't work. If anything, it only makes the man look angry and Newton draws in a sharp breath.

Finally the man shuts his book, lays it down and with a heavy sigh he stands up, still frowning at Newton. He finally looks away after a second and mutters,

“It's 2 PM already. Noon.”

Newton isn't really sure what to say, so he just watches as the man takes up his items with his thin fingers. _Like spiders..._ Newton thinks and shudders slightly. He looks up and spots a name tag pinned onto that ugly sweater vest, it reads 'Gottlieb'.

He lets his eyes wander higher and watches the man's face. Maybe he isn't conventionally attractive, but his cheekbones are high and those eyelashes... _Wow, they're really long_ , Newton notices. _Too bad those pretty features are wasted on an asshole like him._

Newton looks away and grabs his wallet from his pocket.

“22,75$, please.”

Only now he notices the heavy British accent the guy has and it fits him so well, he almost starts laughing out loud. Instead he hands this 'Gottlieb' the money, takes another look at that angry face of his and shakes his head slightly. _Such a waste._

“What?”

“Err, nothing.” Newton puts a fake smile on his face and is already halfway to the door, when he turns around. “Actually, I just thought that such a pretty face is wasted on a rude person like you. Have a nice day.” And with that he just turns around and leaves, grinning at the shocked look that guy had given him. Ah, yes, what a good way to start off a Saturday.

 

***

 

On Monday is Newton's first day of university and while he's excited, he also despises the fact, that he has to get up at 7AM in the morning. The sun just starts to rise, when he takes a last look out of the window at his balcony, before leaving for his first lecture. He arranged the flowers all nicely, spending the entire rest of his Saturday potting them. It's a bit stupid, but he's somehow really proud of his work. He isn't sure how long those flowers will survive, but he'll try to take care of them even if it isn't something he's too good at.

His first lecture is boring. He knows everything they're talking about already, nothing new and Newton doesn't expect the other lectures to be any different. Well, he's literally a genius. He has always been clever, more than clever. Intelligent. He could have gone to university years ago, since he was done with school at age fifteen, but he wanted to live for a while. He travelled with his parents first and then alone, always looking for more challenges and experiences. At some point, when he was 22 to be more accurate, he had still decided, that it was time to do something, so now he's here and suddenly he isn't so sure, he actually wants to be here.

Biology is his great passion and he wouldn't want to study anything else, but he doesn't know anyone here and the lectures are boring. Despite the self-confident front he always puts up, Newton isn't really comfortable around a lot of strangers. There's not much he can do against that though, so he just keeps on going to the lectures, pretends to listen and barely talks to anyone.

 

***

 

On Thursday he already feels like dropping out or maybe at least skipping today's lecture. It's physics and he hates physics, he only took it because he had to. So now he's sitting in the last row of the tiny lecture hall and doesn't pay attention to what the cranky old professor has to say at all.

About ten minutes after the lecture started, the door right behind Newton opens slowly and quietly and someone slips in, slumping down on the free seat next to him. He immediately regrets not sitting down on the seat closest to the aisle, now he'll have to socialise. Ugh.

He ignores his new neighbour until he hears him mutter words under his breath in a distantly familiar language, that isn't English. Only then, he turns to look at the guy next to him.

No.

No, this can't be true. He must still be sleeping, dreaming or more like, having a nightmare. Nononono, it can't be that the guy sitting next to him is that stupid and super annoying Gottlieb guy with his pretty face.

NO.

He must've said that last 'no' out loud, because a few people, including his neighbour turn around to shoot him a confused look. But while everyone else looks away after a moment, that guy keeps on staring at him and his expression changes from confused to angry within a nanosecond.

“You.” He says finally. “What are you doing here?”

Now Newton is angry too.

“It's Newt. And wow, grandpa, I could ask you the same. What do you think I'm doing here? I'm studying, if that means anything to you.” He answers firmly, trying to keep his voice down, which he isn't too successful at.

“You? Studying?” He clicks his tongue. “You didn't strike me like someone who has the intelligence to do something as useful as studying. And you might have guessed so already, but I'm telling you anyway, just to make sure you understand: I study here too.”

Newton is just about to snarl back a venomous response, when the professor suddenly speaks up.

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?”

The whole course is staring at the two students in the last row bickering like an old couple. Newton feels a blush creep up his neck, he doesn't like to be in the centre of attention.

“No.” He says simply and hears his neighbour say the same in unison with him. The professor shrugs and goes back to talking about completely boring things, but Newton keeps his eyes fixed on him. He doesn't want to turn back to this weird guy, but the anger is still brooding inside of him.

After a few minutes, he can't take it any more. He still stares straight ahead, but he leans a bit to his right and whispers,

“Just so you know, I'm a genius with an IQ of 166 and I'm bored as hell right now, because everything that professor is saying, I already learned seven years ago.”

As soon as it's past his lips, he wants to smack himself in the face. Why does he always have to show off, even in front of someone he doesn't even want to impress?

“Good for you. I have an IQ of 164 and I learned all of this years ago too, but at least I try to make it seem like I'm interested.”

“Dude, since when are you trying to be polite? You were an asshole before, why not be an asshole now?” Newton whispers back and somehow he can't help a little smile.

Is he just imagining things or did the tips of his neighbours ear's just turn red? Newt decides to ignore it.

“You are the one who's terribly impolite and rude.”

Newton snorts. “At least I told you my name.”

“Yes, _Newt._ ” he says it like his name is something disgusting.

Just when Newton thinks, that their little 'chat' is over, the guy whispers something else.

“Hermann. It's Hermann.”

 

Shortly before the lecture is over, Newton thinks about asking Hermann if he wants to get a coffee together, because actually he doesn't seem like such an asshole any more. So, when the professor dismisses them, Newton turns around just to find an empty seat. He sighs and smiles to himself.

 

***

 

Newton takes a look into his fridge, hoping to find something to eat. He only finds a beer and a yoghurt with tiny blue dots on top. The yoghurt lands in the trash, before he snags his jacket and keys and starts making his way to the next grocery store.

It's Friday night and lots of university students are out on the streets, partying, having fun, hanging out with friends. Newton ignores them and enters the brightly lit, spacious shop.

Grabbing a shopping basket, he makes for the shelves with the unhealthy products, sweets, chips, instant ramen and canned food. He's just rounding a corner, his eyes fixed on the content of the basket, when he bumps into something or rather someone.

“Ouch! Be careful, for god's sake!”

Newton is automatically apologising, when he recognises the voice, looks up and grins.

“Hermann!”

The other man stares at him in disbelief, Newton thinks that he looks even more annoyed than usually, if that's even possible.

“Newton.”

Hermann is carrying a shopping basket, just like Newton and in the other hand he's holding a cane, leaning on it heavily. The things in his basket are much more healthy tha- wait, a _cane_? He hadn't even noticed, that Hermann needs a cane. Well, now that he's thinking about it, he only saw him sitting or standing before, but never walking. Newton briefly wonders, why he needs it and considers asking, but it doesn't seem like a good idea, so he redirects his gaze back up to Hermann's face.

“Grocery shopping, huh? Man, my fridge was completely empty, there's literally only a beer in there right now. Can you believe it?” Hermann mutters something that sounds a lot like “Oh, yes, I can”, but Newton isn't sure, so he just goes on. “Hey, are you living nearby?”

“Not that it's any of your business...”

“Oh, come on, Hermann. Don't be like that! I live only a block away, you know.” Newton is totally in annoy-mode and he doesn't even think about doing anything about that.

“Very interesting, but I'm afraid I'll have to go now.”

“Why? Do you have to cook for someone or something? Your room mate? Girlfriend? …. Boyfriend?” Newton winces a bit at his own words. It probably sounds like he's trying to flirt or something, which he totally isn't.

“If you must know: No, I'm only cooking for myself.”

The slight pink on Hermann's cheeks doesn't escape Newton, so he smirks.

“Aww, you can cook? Lucky you... but all alone? Just like me...” Newton spaces out and does his best to try to look sad. What is he even doing here? Is he actually trying to get Hermann to make him dinner, is he that desperate? Apparently, yes.

Hermann sighs over-dramatically and rolls his eyes.

“Do you want to come over to my place and have dinner with me?” His cheeks are even pinker now, actually red and Newton thinks it's adorable. Then he thinks, that he probably hit his head really hard as a child, otherwise these weird thoughts are unexplainable.

He straightens his face before he answers, because yes, it's a kind of rude thing to ask of someone, he doesn't even know all too well.

“But only if it's not too much trouble...”

Hermann's face snaps up and in his eyes is this weird _weird_ look Newton can't quite read.

“No, erm, no, it's fine. It doesn't make much of a difference, whether I cook for one or two people and since I don't want you dying from all that unhealthy food, it's probably for the better.”

A small smile tugs on his lips, Newton almost misses it, it's that small.

“Thanks, man! I'll buy you a coffee or two to pay you back.”

 

***

 

Hermann's flat is just as tiny as Newton's. But that's about all their flats have in common. Hermann doesn't live out of boxes, everything is neatly put away, simply a laptop is sitting on the table in one corner of the room. The furniture is mostly white, apart from a very old, dark purple armchair, that's actually way too big for the room. Now that he's looking closer, Newton notices that the whole furniture is a mixture of old and new items. It should look terrible, but somehow it looks really good and Newton almost wishes his flat didn't only consist of boxes and a bed.

The kitchen is also a bit bigger than Newton's and there's actually a counter-thingy in the room, two chairs standing on one side of it, so that it can be used as a table. Hermann tells him, it's called a “kitchen island”. Newton snorts, Hermann has an island in his flat.

“Can I help you with anything?” He asks and sits down in one of the chairs.

“Erm... yes, yes. If you would slice these tomatoes, please.” He sets down a knife, a chopping board and about ten tiny tomatoes in front of Newton.

“Aw, baby tomatoes.” Newton grins and starts slicing them.

“Yes, I, erm... I grew them myself, at work.”

“Really? Maybe I should get a tomato plant for my balcony too...” Newton thinks about it for a second. Yes, that seems like a good idea, he'll go and buy one tomorrow. “By the way, your job... are you that rude to every customer, Hermann?”

Newton can't help it, he has to tease him about it.

“No. Only to annoying hipsters, who wish you a 'good morning' at noon.”

“HIPSTERS?” Newton acts as though he is completely puffed up, but actually he heard that one many times before. “I'm not a hipster! I'm a genius biologist with an awesome taste in music!” By now he can't stop the smile spreading on his face.

“Mhm, whatever you say, Newton. And no, you don't have to mention that you are a genius more than once.”

“Of course I have to. I don't want anyone to forget how amazing I am!” Newton is done slicing the tomatoes and pushes them over to Hermann. “See? Even my veggie-slicing skills are perfect.”

Hermann looks up at the tomatoes, then at Newton.

“Far from perfect, but good enough.” He smiles too now.

 

The evening turns out to be much more enjoyable, than Newton expected. They're fighting more or less the whole time, but Newton doesn't mean most of what he says and Hermann seems to do the same. The food is delicious and Newton has to admit that he's impressed. He even secretly hopes that he might be able to get Hermann to cook more often for him, or for _both_ of them actually.

Hermann tells him, that he's studying Math... Math something, Newton can't remember and that he too graduated school a few years back. He didn't 'do nothing' like Newton though, he says, he worked with and for his father.

The expression on his face changes when he mentions his father, so Newton doesn't ask any further and tells him about his balcony instead.

“It's really green now, thanks to those plants! It's tiny and everything, but whatever, at least I have a balcony, right?!”

“Hm, yes. I wish I had one too...” Hermann stares out of the window in thought and somehow he looks incredibly sad all of a sudden.

“Hey, Hermann. You can come over next week and admire mine, if you want to?” Newton smiles.

“I'd like that.” Hermann smiles back until he continues, “Although I'm sure, that you're completely incapable of taking proper care of anything living, especially plants.”

“How would _you_ know? You'll see, I'll have the most beautiful flowers in the whole neighbourhood, no, the whole country and then you'll beg me for forgiveness for your ignorance. Trust me!” He chuckles and takes another sip of his beer.

 

***

 

With a push Newton opens the door to the giant green house the next day. Today he was clever enough not to bring his jacket in the first place, he'll probably be sweaty for the next three hours even after leaving this place, so it seemed like a good idea.

A look to the right, towards the counter tells him, that Hermann is working today too. He's reading a book again and doesn't see Newton enter and make his way towards him.

“Hello, I'm looking for tomato plants.” Newton made his voice deeper and Hermann is already in the middle of answering and pointing at the far left corner, before he looks up and stops speaking.

“Newton.”

“Hermann.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Like I said: I'm looking for tomato plants.”

Hermann rolls his eyes, but is obviously amused and puts down his book. He gets up and stalks around the counter, coming to a halt next to the other man.

“This way, sir.” He gestures for Newton to go ahead.

“Thank you, sir.” Newton answers and starts walking in front of him, just to slow his pace down a bit a second later to walk next to Hermann.

“Do you really think, it's a good idea to force those poor tomato plants away from this paradise and onto your balcony? You'll probably forget watering them within a week.”

“No, no, no! I'll take really, _really_ good care of them... for more than a week. And anyway, if I forget to water them, you can do it, when you visit me...” That sounded a lot like Newton expects and wants Hermann to visit him on a daily basis, which he doesn't. Obviously.

Hermann snorts softly and shakes his head.

“Here we are. I'd recommend you take one of these” he points at a plant, “or these.” he points at another plant and looks at Newton curiously.

“Well, I... I'll just take one of both!” He grins and picks them up. “Daddy's gonna take good care of you, babies.”

Hermann face-palms and walks back to the counter, Newton follows and puts the plants down, as they reach it. He starts searching for his wallet, while trying to find the right words to ask Hermann, when exactly next week he wants to visit him.

“So... you wanna come over on Monday, Tuesday?” _Smooth, Geiszler, very charming and everything..._ Newton thinks and rolls his eyes at himself.

“I'm a bit busy on Monday, but I suppose I could make some time on Tuesday.” Hermann nods slowly, while he's typing something into the cashier. “In the evening? 5$, please.”

Newton hands him the money. “Yeah, okay. Around 6-ish?”

Hermann nods again and stuffs the money into the cashier, before turning back to Newton. One of his infamous tiny smiles on his lips, he asks, “What about dinner?”

“What about i- Oh! Well, I erm, I'm not good at cooking. But I guess you already know that, so I don't know... we could order something or yo-you could cook again.” The last words come out as more of a whisper and Newton blushes slightly, because it's kind of rude to ask Hermann to cook for him again.

“I will cook. There's a new recipe I wanted to try out, you'll be my test-subject, Newton.”

Newton doesn't like the mischief in his voice, but he still smiles at his friend.

“Awesome, dude! But I'm gonna pay for the ingredients this time, okay?” He takes the bag with the plants from the counter, but puts them down again immediately. “Hold on, do you have a pen and paper?”

Hermann reaches under the cashier and pulls out an old dirty notebook and a blue ball-pen with a fancy font saying 'Grunnings' on it. Newton opens the almost completely empty notebook on a random page and scribbles down his phone number. He rips the page out and shoves it into Hermann's hand.

“Here. In case you need to talk to me or something...” Newton can feel himself blushing again and nervously scratches the back of his neck. “Well, I'll see you on Tuesday, I guess....”

“Y-yes, I hope so.” Hermann is slightly flushed too as he stares at the slip of paper in his hands. Newton smiles at that and leaves with a teasing, “Bye, Herm~”.

Now Newton has to buy furniture and get rid of those boxes until Tuesday. Yes, yes, the things you do for a guy with a pretty face.

 

***

 

Surprisingly, it is much easier to find some nice furniture, than Newton thought. A certain well-known Swedish shop is his saviour and he thanks all the Swedish people for making cheap and kind of solid furniture.

Standing in his flat and admiring his work, Newton only now notices that it now looks a bit like Hermann's flat. Minus the purple armchair of course. And anyway, all in all it's much brighter and less fancy, there are still some boxes standing on one of the walls and the chaos on his desk is still the same.

But it's better, much better than before. Good enough to let someone inside, without having to worry they might think you're a crack addict. Newton stacks the remaining three boxes neatly next to his bookshelf and sits down on his bed. He notices the buzzing of his phone a second later and pulls it out of his pocket. '1 new text message' it says. Newton frowns for a second, wondering who would text him, until he remembers that he gave his number to Hermann. How did he even forget about this super awkward moment?

He taps on the little envelope and the message opens.

 

**Hello, Newton. Do you have a sharp knife and a big frying pan? - Hermann**

 

Newton smiles. That guy even uses proper grammar and punctuation when texting, weird. He thinks about Hermann's question for a moment and comes to the conclusion that he has indeed a pan, but probably no really sharp knife. He quickly texts back:

 

**got a pan no knife tho**

 

While he's waiting for a reply, he picks up the empty mug and cold, half-eaten ramen from his night-stand and walks over to the kitchen corner to get rid of them. The sink is already full with dirty dishes, but he still manages to squeeze the mug in. He frowns at the ramen, now that he's thinking about it, they're probably left from about a week ago. He stops thinking about it again and just throws them away.

Another buzzing tells him that Hermann finally answered.

 

**I will bring one, then. I hope you watered your plants already today.**

 

I takes Newton mere seconds to type up an answer.

 

**who do u think I am? hell yea I have**

 

He hasn't though, so he hurries over to grab the watering can and fill it with water. It's not like, he hadn't done it, if Hermann hadn't reminded him. He knew, he hadn't done it yet, so it doesn't matter that he's doing it only now. Seriously.

By the time he's done watering his precious plants, he received another text.

 

**Of course, Newton. I'll see you tomorrow.**

 

Newton can practically see the smug expression on Hermann's face through the text. He goes back to getting rid of some of the clutter on his night-stand and the desk, thinking about that look on his friend's face. _Such an idiot._

 

***

 

 _It's weird_ , Newton thinks. It's weird how fast they started hating each other, weird how fast they became friends after that and weird how fast Newton seems to be falling for Hermann. It's more than just weird, it's kind of surreal, it seems almost impossible.

But it's still happening.

Hermann is standing in his kitchen, humming softly, while cooking some delicious-smelling meal and Newton watches him from the tiny table between the couch and the kitchen. He sees how focused on his work Hermann is, how much he enjoys it all the same. He sees how his hair with that ridiculous haircut sticks into all kinds of stupid angles and how his too big, ugly cardigan clings to his small frame. He sees how the perfectly polished Oxford shoes leave tiny black marks on his floor and how Hermann's hands move around the kitchen utensils and ingredients with practised movements.

And all this shouldn't make Newton feel warm and fuzzy in his chest. Newton winces and hates himself and his brain for even thinking something like that. Why would he not like Hermann and his grandpa clothes? He swallows the lump in his throat and decides to stop thinking about it for now.

 

***

 

The red number '05:56' on Newton's clock is all he can see in his flat, otherwise it's too dark. He can't really remember what happened. Hermann and him ate, it was just as delicious as last time. They drank some beer and maybe a few shots, which seemed to have no effect on Hermann. _And then?_

Newton sits up in his bed or at least he tries to, just that he can't because there's something heavy laying on his chest. He looks down and can barely make out the shape of an arm and a head with some dark hair.

_Oh shit._

Newton closes his eyes again. _What happened? What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?_

Everything comes back to him within a second. Right, at some point he fell onto his bed because he was so drunk and tired all of a sudden. He remembers saying something about not having gotten drunk in a few months and hating squids. _Hating squids? Seriously?_

Anyway, he dozed off pretty quickly, but right before that Hermann said something about feeling dizzy, so Newton offered him to lay down next to him. Obviously, Hermann took up that offer.

Newton smirks into the dark, when he realises that Hermann seems to be a cuddler, otherwise the way he's almost laying on top of him isn't explainable. As much as he enjoys their current position, his arm begins to feel numb and he can already feel the tension settling into his shoulders. He carefully turns to his side, Hermann stirring in his sleep, but not waking up. Now they're spooning and Newton is a bit ashamed, because it feels like he's taking advantage of his friend's state. Although, well, Hermann is the one with the arm around _his_ waist, not the other way round.

Newton thinks about the smile on Hermann's lips, when he stood on the balcony earlier and slowly he sinks back into a comfortable sleep.

 

***

 

When Newton wakes up again, his clock says '09:23'. A more or less appropriate time to get up he decides, especially since today's lecture starts in about two hours. He looks down at the brown pile of hair, now laying on his chest again and huffs out a laugh.

“Hermann.” He gently pushes his shoulder. “Heeeeerm~”

Hermann awakes and sits up almost in an instant. He looks baffled for a moment, rubbing his eyes, until the realisation that he slept on Newton's chest hits him. His cheeks turn a deep scarlet and he looks everywhere but Newton's eyes, when he stammers.

“Ah, I-I'm sorry... Newton, I-I shouldn-”

Newton has mercy on him, because he can feel himself blushing slightly too.

“Erm, no, no. It's all right. No worries. I guess, we were both pretty drunk last night... and erm... we slept in one bed, so what?” He tries to put on a reassuring expression, when Hermann finally catches his eye. The scarlet turns into a soft pink and he smiles.

“Yes, you are right, I suppose.” He stares at Newton for a few more moments, when his expression suddenly changes. “What time is it?”

“09:25 AM. Why?”

“Oh god, my first lecture starts in five minutes. Blimey!”

“Dude, did you just say 'blimey'? That has to be the most British thing you've ever said.” Newton laughs and he can't stop laughing for a while, because the distressed look on Hermann's face as he's trying to gather all his things is somehow hilarious.

Hermann doesn't seem to think so, but he's way too busy to express his disapproval and only flashes Newton a grumpy look instead. That of course, makes Newton laugh only harder, so he can hardly yell a “See ya, Herm!” after him.

When Hermann is gone, his flat seems weirdly empty, so he decides to move to the only other and smaller room, to take a shower. Feeling refreshed and much more motivated to go to university, he throws on a clean shirt and a dark blue sweater. Not like the ones Hermann wears, no, his is all soft and was probably expensive, a present from his sister, if he remembers correctly. He'd rather have a Hermann-sweater though.

 

***

 

On Thursday it's time for the physics lecture again and Newton is looking forward to it, which is of course because of his new-found motivation and not because of a certain person, whose name starts with a 'H' and ends with 'ermann'. Nope, no way.

It's unbelievable, how Newton is early for a lecture. He is actually and honestly _early_ , he's sure that it's the first time in his life. Hermann isn't there yet though, so it's kind of a waste, but whatever. Newton starts up his laptop and browses a bit on the internet, looking up every time the door opens, hoping it's finally Hermann.

The lecture starts and the seat to Newton's right is still empty. He guesses that maybe Hermann is just late, like last week, but when he still isn't there five minutes before the end, he decides that something terrible must have happened to Hermann. It's stupid, of course. _Maybe he simply over-slept or has a hangover_ , Newton thinks, but by now he's more or less jumping up and down in his seat with worry. He nervously starts chewing his fingernails, a habit he got rid of about ten years ago. Stress still makes him pick it up again though. The professor finally dismisses them and Newton grabs his bag and cold coffee, almost knocking it over while doing so.

Walking down the long hallway, he takes a look at his phone. No new messages, so he types a quick text to Hermann.

 

**dude where r u? u missed physics r u ok?**

 

He feels a bit stupid, panicking so much over the fact that his friend didn't show up. It's probably nothing, but his stupid, stupid brain just can't stop presenting Newton with all these weird ideas about what may have happened to Hermann. Maybe he got hit by a bus, maybe he slipped in the shower and is now laying on the floor, bleeding to death. Maybe his cereal got stuck in his throat and he choked to death or maybe he accidentally chopped off a finger with that giant kitchen knife of his. Newton shudders and tries to remember the lyrics to 'What shall we do with the drunken sailor?' to keep his mind off these terrible thoughts.

 

***

 

He takes a deep breath and knocks on Hermann's door three times. There's only silence at first and his brain is about to start coming up with those scenarios again, when Newton hears something. Footsteps making their way towards the door, then a clicking noise and the door opens.

Hermann looks like hell. Red nose, eye bags, his hair a mess. He's wearing pyjamas and holds a cup of tea in one hand.

“Hello, Newton.” He steps back to let Newton in.

“Man, you look awful. Did you catch a cold?”

Hermann grunts in response, limps back to his bed and sits on its edge. Newton isn't really sure what to do, so he just sits down next to him. Not too close though, he doesn't want to get ill too.

“You should've texted me, I was worried...”

Hermann looks at him with that fond look in his eyes and Newton can hardly stand it. He's about to look away, when Hermann turns back to his tea and mumbles,

“... I'm sorry. I couldn't find the charger for my phone...”

He keeps on staring at his tea, obviously slightly embarrassed. Newton clears his throat, trying to make that annoying lump in it go away.

“Erm, do you- do you need anything? Meds? Handkerchiefs? More tea?”

“No, Newton you really don't have to-”

“I know that I don't have to, but I want to. Come on, Hermann, tell me!”

“Well, some tea would be nice... this one's already cold.” He puts the cup in his hands down on the night-stand with a sigh and gives Newton a warm smile. “Thank you, Newton.”

“Don't mention it.”

 

***

 

An hour later, Hermann is fast asleep and Newton thinks that it's probably time to go home, but somehow he doesn't want to. He'd rather keep on watching the adorable expression on Hermann's face, but that doesn't seem like a good idea either.

He makes some more tea instead and fills it into a thermos flask, he finds in one of the kitchen cabinets. Then he sits down on the purple armchair and picks up the book, that's laying on the table. Newton expects it to be something about math, turns out it's a book with poems by Walt Whitman. Surprised, he flips through the pages and notices some faint pencil notes here and some dog-eared pages there. Newton didn't think Hermann is one to read poetry or even care about it in the slightest. He was obviously wrong, because when he takes a closer look at the bookshelf, that's covering almost an entire wall, there's a lot of poetry and classical literature.

Newton himself doesn't read much and if he does, it's mostly science fiction or fantasy, but rarely anything 'deep' and meaningful. It's not that he can't understand it and he does appreciate some classics, but it's generally just not his cup of tea.

He goes back to the armchair and picks up the Walt Whitman poems again. He reads some of them, the ones Hermann highlighted mostly. They're nice actually, so he just keeps on reading, until he hears Hermann stirring behind him. It's dark outside by now and his phone says it's past 8 PM already.

“...Newton?”

Newton turns around to see Hermann sitting in his bed, squinting, his nose still red and Newton thinks, that this is probably the most adorable thing he has ever seen in his whole life. He can choke down the 'awww' that's laying on his tongue only barely and answers with a proper word instead.

“Yeah?”

“You are still here? You should go home, you need your sleep too. Don't worry about me, I will be fine.”

Newton gets up and sits back down on the bed next to Hermann.

“Are you sure? I wouldn't mind staying...”

Hermann doesn't say anything and looks down on his hands instead. After a moment of silence Newton suddenly realises, that his reaction probably means, that he indeed wants him to stay. Just to be sure he asks him and when the tips of Hermann's ears turn red, his answer is obvious. Newton smiles.

“Do you want some more tea before you go back to sleep?” He asks, hoping to make the situation a bit less weird.

“Yes, please.”

He quickly gets a cup and pours in some of the tea he made earlier before carrying it over to Hermann. Within a few minutes the cup is empty again and Newton puts it next to the other cup, the one with the cold tea. There's a moment of awkward silence, before Hermann moves over wordlessly and Newton lays down next to him. He reaches up to switch off the lamp on the night-stand.

In the darkness his other senses seem sharper. He can feel the heat radiating from Hermann's body. He hears his steady breathing and the faint smell of tea, clean laundry and shampoo hangs in the air. Newton smiles into the dark room and turns to his side. Hermann's breath hitches, when Newton lays his palm on his friend's chest. Neither of them says anything, when Hermann lays his hand on top of Newton's.

 

***

 

The next four months are pretty much like that and Newton loves it. Hermann cooks for him, they bicker and in the end pass out on either Newton's or Hermann's bed. There's nothing more, they are still just friends and although Newton has a hard time not to go nuts, he's too scared to destroy their friendship by confessing his feelings to Hermann. With their growing friendship, Newton learns so many things about Hermann and he loves every single one of them.

He loves the way Hermann sometimes mutters in his sleep, just fragments of sentences in German. He loves that concentrated look on his face, when he's working, especially when he's absorbed into his chaotic calculations, that only seem to make sense to Hermann. He loves his secret (at least from everyone else) passion for action films and cartoons. It's so silly and adorable, Newton can't stop the laugh from escaping his lips every time he walks in on Hermann watching Cartoon Network.

Walking in on Hermann doing something, yes, he can do that now because they exchanged keys for each other's flats. And right there is another thing he loves about Hermann: he sometimes leaves things in his flat. When Newton returns from a lecture he frequently finds some food or a DVD on the table, a little note stuck to it. They always say things like 'Newt. Some leftovers from lunch, it's lasagne. I hope you like it, I put extra cheese on top. - H” or “Newt. I found this DVD earlier, it's a film about monsters. I thought you might like it. - H”. Newton loves that Hermann knows that he loves cheese and monsters.

He keeps every single one of these notes and hides them in a shoebox under his bed. It's a bit embarrassing and he doesn't even want to think about that box, because every time he opens it, all his feelings for Hermann hit him. They practically punch him in the face and his chest tightens and he can barely breathe. And when he closes the box again, he puts all his feelings back into the box, shoves them in and locks them away together with all these notes. He leaves them under his bed and ignores that he's helplessly in love with Hermann Gottlieb.

 

***

 

It's October and slowly the air becomes more chilly every day. Newton pulls his scarf up a bit higher, when he makes his way home from the supermarket. And by home, he means Hermann's flat, because it kind of is home by now.

Hermann texted him earlier, that he still needs some things for dinner, but can't go out because he's busy with school-work, so Newton got all the ingredients from the list, Hermann sent him. He reaches the flat a few minutes later and unlocks the door. Inside, it's nice and cosy as opposed to the crisp air outside.

Newton puts the shopping bags on the kitchen island, removes his jacket and flaps down onto the bed. Hermann looks up from his work to give him a disapproving look, but he's apparently too caught up in calculations to actually verbalise his disapproval. Newton closes his eyes and listens to the sound of the scraping of Hermann's pencil on paper. It's extremely relaxing and he's on the verge of falling asleep within a few seconds. The scraping stops, but Newton doesn't notice, he's too tired. The mattress shifts, but he doesn't notice that either. Only when a hand comes to rest on his waist, he snaps back to reality.

 _Oh_. Is the first thing Newton thinks, because, yeah, they've done this before. Almost every night actually, but _just then_ , at night and only after laying next to each other for a while. They've done it disguised as a half-sleepy motion, something unconscious, but now Hermann is awake and Newton is too and they both know.

Newton doesn't dare to open his eyes at first, at some point he still does. Hermann is laying on his side next to him, he uses his right arm at a pillow, his left arm slug over Newton. He stares at Newton, his expression neutral, a classic Hermann-pokerface, but his slightly red cheeks give away that he's probably not as cool, as he acts. Newton rolls over, mirroring Hermann's position and putting his hand on the other man's waist. He doesn't know what to say, so they just keep on staring at each other. The adrenaline is buzzing in Newton's veins and he can hear his pounding heart in his ears. It seems to go on forever. Hermann finally opens his mouth and Newton is both relieved and scared.

“Newt.” Hermann starts. He always starts his sentences like this these days and Newton feels a bit proud at that realisation. “Newton Geiszler.” He stops again and yes, that is a bit out of character, usually Hermann knows exactly what he want to say and how he wants to say it. He takes a deep breath and his eyes shoot back to fix Newton's.

“I-I am terribly scared to tell you this, because erm... you are my best friend and th- errr the most important person in the world to me. But I-I cannot do this any more, I can't take seeing you every day and having to suppress my feelings. I l-love you, Newton Geiszler. I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you. I know, this is terribly cheesy, kitschy, corny and whatnot, but it's true.”

Hermann closes his eyes and swallows, he's full-on scarlet by now and Newton is pretty sure he doesn't look much different. But why would he care? The most wonderful human-being, the one person he wants to spend the rest of his life with just confessed his love to him. He wants to scream and tell the world how awesome he feels and how amazing Hermann is and how much he wants to kiss him right now- but, yes. He can, _he can_ do just that.

Newton takes his hand from Hermann's waist and places it carefully on his cheek instead. Hermann breathes out heavily and opens his eyes again. Those beautiful dark eyes, right above those equally beautiful cheekbones. Newton grins at Hermann's expression. Confusion, fear, adoration, uncertainty, embarrassment and fondness all showing on his face at the same time.

Then Newton finally lets himself lean in and softly press his lips to Hermann's. There's a sigh and Hermann relaxes under his touch, dragging Newton closer. Their kiss turns from sweet to passionate pretty quickly and when they both draw away to take a breath, Newton uses the opportunity.

“So, you've loved me ever since you 'first laid eyes on me'? Interesting...” Newton smiles and brushes a strand of hair from Hermann's forehead. Hermann has to grin too.

“Yes. I know, it probably didn't seem that way, but to be honest, I did watch you from the moment you entered the shop, so I had some time to come up with a strategy. Besides, I'm not one to show emotions easily, I suppose you know that by now...”

“You bet, I do. And dude, I don't think you have any idea how sweet that is.”

Newton leans in again and presses another kiss to Hermann's lips.

“Ah, and one more thing.” Newton says after a moment. “I love you too. So, uhh... does that qualify me to be your... boyfriend or something?”

“It does indeed.” Hermann smiles affectionately before his face changes back to its usual seriousness. “But I will have to consider the other candidates, to ensure I make the right choice. I will let you know as soon as I made my decision.” He moves away from Newton to sit up.

“W-Wait.... what? I don't... what are y-” Newton stops himself when he sees Hermann's shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter and sighs loudly. He shoves at Hermann's arm and sits up too. “Haha, very funny, Herm. And it's not like there's any better possible choice than me anyway...” Newt grumbles, but he feels himself starting to laugh too.

“I'm sorry, but you should have seen your face!” Hermann breathes out between two laughing fits and Newton can't help but join in because Hermann looks happier than he has ever seen him.

 

***

 

“Pancakes?”

“Yes, please. You didn't put bacon in them again, did you?”

“Nope, I know you don't like them with bacon, Herm. Although that's a shame, because there's literally nothing better than bacon pancakes. Well... your loss, my gain, I guess.”

Hermann rolls his eyes, but he's smiling into his cup of tea. A plate with at least ten pancakes is shoved onto the table in front of him and he is surprised that they're neither burned nor still raw. He takes a forkful and yes, they aren't bad, even good compared to Newt's usual so-called 'food' and that's what he tells his boyfriend.

“Seriously? Whoa thanks, dude! That's like DaVinci telling me I'm good at art, really, thanks!” Newton grins and tries some of his own food too.

“Am I honestly under-appreciative enough that you feel the need to compare me to DaVinci as soon as I tell you something isn't bad?” His brow furrowed, Hermann eats some more of his breakfast, while waiting for Newt's answer.

“Naaah, but you're pretty damn good at cooking, so it, y'know, makes me happy.” It should sound naïve and stupid and Hermann knows that it's gross how Newton talks while eating, but he all he can feel towards the other man is affection and fondness.

“Hmm.” Is what he replies and smiles at his pancakes. After a while, when he's almost done eating, he notices that Newt is watching him, his pancakes mostly untouched, so he looks up curiously. “What's wrong, Newt?”

“Nothing... I was just thinking, that I love you.”

Hermann stares at him for a moment, surprised by Newton's serious tone and sudden display of emotion, but then he leans over and plants a kiss on his lips. He goes back to eating a second later, his eyes fixed on the last piece of pancake on his plate, before he finally answers, “[Ich liebe dich auch](../).”

Outside on the balcony, Newt's plants are softly swaying in the warm summer breeze. And Newton thinks that if they could speak, they'd surely say that they're just as happy as Newton and Hermann.

**Author's Note:**

> Like usually unbeta'd b/c of reasons. I've had 90% of this laying around for almost two months and I finally made up my mind to finish it today~  
> Comments, questions, critique, corrections etc are welcome like always ;3


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